Does the Law Support Inventors or Investors?

Introduction

Jo Yong-Hak/ReutersAn Apple iPad, left, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

In a report in The New York Times this week, judges, scholars and executives said that in technology fields, “the marketplace for new ideas has been corrupted by software patents used as destructive weapons.” But certainly the protections for intellectual property – like pharmaceuticals, movies and other inventions – also fuel creativity, in part by giving investors enough confidence to open their wallets.

On balance, does intellectual property law encourage or discourage innovation?